Historical Herbalist: Dr. James Still
Introduction
The self-taught herbalist, Dr. James Still, never received a medical degree. Instead, he learned from books and experience healing those in his community.1 This isn’t entirely surprising because at the time of his birth in 1812, his parents escape from slavery had occurred less than 10 years before. In fact, at the time of his birth two of his siblings were slaves.2
Roots to Riches
Lasting Legacy
Dr. James Still wrote an auto-biography detailing the events of his life called Early Recollections and Life of Dr. James Still, which is still for sale today.5 Not only do his words live on, but the office that Dr. James Still built for his medical practice is now a historic site in the state of New Jersey, the first African-American site purchased by the state for preservation.4 In the end, though Dr. James Still was unable to attend medical school. His son, James Thomas Still, became one of the first black graduates from Harvard Medical School.5
Sources
1 – Dr. James Still: Life and Legacy
2 – Still Family – Dr. James Still Center
3 –James Still (1812-1882) – BlackPast.org
4 – Dr. James Still Historic Office Site – Medford Historical Society
5 – The Jungle Healing Practices: Amazonian Herbal Medicine – Amazon.com
